Thanks for the links, Beth. It was so interesting to read about the warblers' migration on Kate's blog.

P.S. Also on Kate's blog, there's a nice August 6 post about the falcons in Youngstown, OH, with a beautiful picture of Tort, one of this year's fledglings. If you click on the picture, you can see Tort practicing her flying and landings.

_________________A bird does not sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song. (Chinese proverb)

~ This was posted on the Virginia bird listserve. Very interesting work by CCB. ~

Flight of Hope

(Williamsburg, VA)---Hope, a whimbrel carrying a satellite transmitter, isfar out to sea flying south over the Atlantic toward her wintering groundsin South America. The bird had been staging (building up energy reserves inpreparation for a migratory flight) on Southampton Island in the northernreach of Hudson Bay since 15 July before leaving on a non-stop flight southon 10 August. The bird flew south over Hudson Bay, crossed the interior ofCanada and New England to emerge from the coast of Maine and out over theopen ocean. Flying more than 1,600 kilometers (1000 miles) out over theocean and east of Bermuda, Hope then turned south and is now moving towardthe Caribbean. She has already flown non-stop for more than 5,100kilometers (3,200 miles) but is still 400 kilometers (250 miles) from thenearest land in the Virgin Islands. So far, Hope has been on the wing for 4days with an average flight speed of 60 kilometers/hour (37 miles/hour).

Hope was originally captured and fitted with a satellite transmitter on19 May, 2009 while staging on the Delmarva Peninsula of Virginia. She leftVirginia on 26 May and flew to the western shore of James Bay in Canada.She staged on James Bay for 3 weeks before flying to the MacKenzie Rivernear Alaska and then on to the Beaufort Sea where she staged for more than 2weeks before flying back to Hudson Bay. Hope has traveled more than 13,000kilometers (8,000 miles) since late May.

Hope is one of several birds that have been fitted with state of the art9.5-gram, satellite transmitters in a collaborative effort by the Center forConservation Biology at the College of William and Mary - VirginiaCommonwealth University and the Virginia Chapter of the Nature Conservancyto discover migratory routes that connect breeding and winter areas and toidentify en route migratory staging areas that are critical to theconservation of this declining species.Updated tracking maps may be viewed online.http://www.ccb-wm.org/programs/migratio ... imbrel.htm

Background

The whimbrel is a large, holarctic, highly migratory shorebird. TheNorth American race includes two disjunct breeding populations both of whichwinter primarily in Central and South America. The western populationbreeds in Alaska and the Northwest Territories of Canada. The easternpopulation breeds south and west of Hudson Bay in Manitoba and Ontario.Both populations are of high conservation concern due to dramatic declinesin recent decades.Satellite tracking represents only one aspect of a broader, integratedinvestigation of whimbrel migration. During the past 2 years, the Centerfor Conservation in partnership with The Nature Conservancy and the U.S.Fish and Wildlife Service has used conventional transmitters to examinestopover duration, conducted aerial surveys to estimate seasonal numbers,collected feather samples to locate summer and winter areas throughstable-isotope analysis, and has initiated a whimbrel watch program.Continued research is planned to further link populations across staging,breeding, and wintering areas and to determine the ecological requirementsof whimbrels staging along the peninsula.

Last month I had the pleasure of going to see Sandhill Cranes at the Jasper-Pulaski Fish and Wildlife Area near Medaryville, IN during their migration to points south. Indy Falconheads Kathy and Duane Gipe took this amazing video. Since then, I have seen several huge flocks of Sandhill Cranes flying, the latest this afternoon as I was driving home from Michigan. It is an awesome sight indeed. I hope you enjoy the dancing!

Great article, Barb...don't think I've ever heard of that bird...and I loved the video, gigi...they looked like they were having so much fun...especially the one playing with the moss/grass..sooooooooo....are their displays bonding/play/territorial...guess I'd better do some research...

Great article, Barb...don't think I've ever heard of that bird...and I loved the video, gigi...they looked like they were having so much fun...especially the one playing with the moss/grass..sooooooooo....are their displays bonding/play/territorial...guess I'd better do some research...

I think all of the above, SGB. It was sooo interesting. My allergies were giving me fits while there, so I spent the entire time wiping away my tears while trying to take it all in. It was fantastic.

Barb, I just read your article. Wow, what the biologists go through for their research! Very interesting!

_________________"Always try to be a little kinder than is necessary."~ J. M. Barrie